


to be raised high

by lady_pembroke



Series: modern au cinematic universe [3]
Category: 16th Century CE RPF, The Tudors (TV)
Genre: Announcements, Established Relationship, F/M, Humor, Married Couple, Sibling Love, Surprises, Wedding Planning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:07:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22410742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lady_pembroke/pseuds/lady_pembroke
Summary: An unexpected visit from Jane Parker's sister-in-law Anne Boleyn brings both good company and surprising news.
Relationships: Anne Boleyn/Henry VIII of England, George Boleyn/Jane Parker Boleyn Lady Rochford
Series: modern au cinematic universe [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1505018
Comments: 8
Kudos: 17





	to be raised high

Jane didn’t get up the first time someone knocked on the door to her apartment. It was Sunday and they hadn’t been expecting guests, so she’d settled herself comfortably in her favorite cozy purple armchair with an afghan, a mug of tea, and her laptop. Needless to say, moving wasn’t high on her list of priorities.

The knocking stopped. Then it started again, louder and more insistent than before. Jane sighed and dragged herself out of the chair.

When she opened the door, her sister-in-law stood on the other side. 

Jane barely had time to be confused before Anne lunged forward, threw her arms around Jane’s shoulders, and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. The smell of Anne’s floral conditioner flooded Jane’s nose, making it hard to think.

Just as quickly, Anne released her again. Her entire body was practically vibrating with excitement, her dark eyes sparkling and her face flushed. “Hi,” she said, beaming at Jane. “Can I come in? I have something big to tell you.”

“Um,” Jane said. Her brain was still struggling to process what was happening. “We, uh, we weren’t expecting you.”

Anne sighed, brushing a loose lock of black hair behind her ear. “I know. I tried to call on my way here, but no one picked up. You’re not doing anything, though, right?”

“Um,” Jane said again. After five years of knowing Anne, she was mostly used to her sister-in-law’s personality, but every so often Anne still managed to knock her off-balance. “No, not really.” Though that had kind of been the point.

“Come on in,” she said after a moment of deliberation. “It sounds like we should talk.”

Anne beamed and walked briskly into the apartment. Jane followed, trying to work her hair into something halfway presentable as she went. 

Next to Anne, Jane was even more acutely aware of the fact that she'd gotten dressed that morning without the expectation of visitors. Anne's hair hung down her back in an artful French braid, her makeup was perfect, and she wore a knee-length lacy black dress accompanied by matching heels. Jane, by contrast, was in sweatpants and one of George's old college shirts.

It didn’t really matter, Jane reasoned. Anne had a gift for making everyone around her feel underdressed. Still, she kind of wished she’d thought to change.

Kicking off her shoes, Anne looked around the apartment and sank her toes into the plush green rug. “I love what you’ve done with the place,” she said with a gesture to one of the few modern art pieces hanging on the walls. “It looks gorgeous; seriously, where did you _find_ that?”

“Thank you,” Jane said, allowing herself a smile. They’d been on a decorating kick ever since their wedding, and most of the furniture was new. She and George had similar taste in most things - interior design included - so their joint efforts had produced fairly harmonious results. “We picked that piece up at this art exhibition we visited a couple months ago, actually. We would’ve invited you, but . . .”

“Yeah, I was a little busy,” Anne said with a shrug. “But next time, I’ll never forgive you if you don’t take me along. Did you repaint the walls?”

“To match the rug, yeah,” Jane said. “It was George’s idea.”

Anne nodded, then perked up as if struck by a sudden thought. “Hey, I forgot to ask,” she said, “is George in? I haven’t heard him.”

“He’s showering,” Jane said. She paused, thinking. “Wait, actually, he might be done by now; not sure.”

Anne considered that. “Explains why all my calls went to voicemail.”

“Mm,” Jane agreed. She moved a stack of books off their couch so she and Anne could both sit down. “So, what’s the big news?”

Anne smiled her dazzling, secretive smile. “Well -”

“ _Cherie_?” George’s voice said from the other side of the room. “Have you seen my - wait, _Anne_?”

Simultaneously, Jane and Anne turned to see him standing in the doorway, his thick dark hair still wet. He, too, looked like he’d gotten dressed in the dark, which provided Jane a small measure of comfort.

“George!” Anne sprang to her feet, crossed to his side in a few quick strides, and dragged him over to the couch where they'd been sitting. “Perfect timing.”

“Uh huh,” said George, who seemed to be adjusting to Anne’s unexpected presence much more quickly than Jane had. “Hey, not that I’m not absolutely delighted to see you, but - what are you doing here?”

Or maybe not. Anne gave an exaggerated sigh - complete with one of her impressive eye rolls - and drew herself up with the air of someone about to deliver a press briefing. “As I was just explaining to your lovely wife -” she indicated Jane - “I have _amazing_ news I wanted to share with you both. I tried calling on my way over, but neither of you answered by the time I got here and I figured I shouldn’t waste the trip, so I knocked and Jane kindly let me in.”

A pause. Then, George shrugged. “Cool. What’s your news?”

If it was possible for Anne to draw herself up further, she did. “If there are no further interruptions . . .”

She paused again. None revealed themselves. Jane gestured for her to continue.

“Well . . .” Anne tapped out a little drumroll on her thigh. “Ta-da!”

She held up her left hand.

“What -?” Jane began. Then she noticed the gold band on Anne’s ring finger - and the light refracting off the diamond in the center.

“He proposed?” Jane asked, leaning forward.

“Mm-hm!” Anne beamed. “It was amazing; I wish someone had filmed it. I’ll ask Henry if he got anything on camera.”

Jane and George exchanged a glance. 

Anne noticed. “What?” she demanded, frowning.

“Congratulations,” George said, perhaps a little too quickly. “I mean, he’s pretty hot, so . . .”

Jane raised her eyebrows at him, trying not to laugh. “Would you like to reconsider that statement?”

“He _is_ ,” George said defensively. “Like, objectively speaking; it’s not a _me_ thing.”

“If you say so,” Jane said, still fighting to keep a straight face.

“Come on,” George said, giving her his most charming smile. “You know I prefer blonds.”

Jane was about to kiss him for that when Anne cleared her throat loudly. “Hello? Which one of us just got engaged to Henry fucking Tudor here?”

“You,” George said. “Unless Jane has something to tell me.”

That did it: Jane gave up on restraint and laughed. Anne huffed, but even she couldn’t keep the sparkle out of her eyes for long.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Anne said when Jane had regained her composure and schooled her features into an appropriate expression. “Henry’s made it official: as soon as the divorce is finalized, we’ll have our wedding.”

“Have you told Mary about this?” George asked.

“Tried to call her on my way here,” Anne sighed. “She didn’t pick up.”

“Not surprising. With Cat and the pregnancy and all, it's kind of a miracle she remembers we exist. What about Dad?”

“God, no; not _yet_. Next you'll ask me if I want the entire goddamn Boleyn-Howard family micromanaging my big day,” Anne grumbled. “This is supposed to be a _happy_ occasion, you know.”

The siblings shared a glance, then laughed, expressions nearly identical. It was a little uncanny how in sync they were at times.

Jane forced a laugh, too, finally remembering the reason behind her first reaction to the news of Anne’s engagement. “Right,” she said cautiously, trying to think of a way to phrase her concern without being awful. “And I’m happy for you, of course.” She twisted her own wedding ring around her finger. “But, um . . . it’s just that . . . it’s a little sudden, right? I mean, you’ve known each other for what, six months?”

Actually, Jane knew exactly how long Anne had known Henry Tudor: she’d met him at Jane and George’s wedding reception. Henry hadn’t been an actual guest, though in a strange twist of fate, George had actually done some work for his company a year or so back. Anne hadn’t realized the Henry she’d met was _Henry Tudor_ \- the wealthy, influential, still technically married businessman - until the morning after.

Jane hadn’t been privy to _all_ the drama of the next couple months, but Anne shared enough that she was familiar with the basics, and the media buzz surrounding the whole thing made up for the rest. Anne’s refusal to be another cheating scandal had resulted in a complete rejection of Henry, the divorce announcement that followed had made exactly twelve headlines, Anne and Henry’s first date made even more, and the public statement about it from Henry’s soon-to-be-ex-wife made it clear this divorce would not be quick or painless.

Logically, Jane supposed a marriage proposal from Henry wasn’t an outlandish next step. But still - _six months_.

Anne waved a dismissive hand as if to bat Jane’s concerns out of the air. Again, the light caught on her engagement ring. “Honestly, it _feels_ like we’ve known each other forever. And when you have the kind of connection that Henry and I do, why wait any longer to make it permanent?”

“She’s got a point,” George said, a smile that looked remarkably like Anne’s playing across his lips. “And you have to admit they’re a good couple.”

They were. Even setting aside compatibility and judging from a purely aesthetic standpoint, Anne and Henry fit together perfectly, as Henry’s increasingly frequent appearances on Anne’s meticulously curated Instagram could attest. Put together, they were an absurdly gorgeous pair.

More than that, though, Anne and Henry shared plenty of interests and a kind of brilliant intensity that made them two of the most compelling people Jane knew. When they were together, they brought out each other's personalities to the fullest extent. Their shared passion for life made everything around them seem brighter and more vibrant just by being in the same room.

“I'm happy for you, Anne,” Jane said after another moment. “It's great news, really.”

She meant it.

There was a brief silence. Then once again, Anne threw her arms around Jane. Jane was more prepared this time, though, and actually managed to hug back before Anne released her.

“Thank you,” Anne said when they’d parted. “That really means a lot to me.” She smiled, then clapped her hands together. “So! We're both super excited about getting to plan our wedding. Henry texted me before I even got here to say he’s already working on a color scheme; we need every detail to be perfect.”

Reaching around Jane, George clapped his sister on the shoulder. “Hey, any event designed by you two is guaranteed to be amazing.”

Anne preened. “Thank you, George. Of course, we’ll have to wait until Henry’s actually, you know, _divorced_ , but that shouldn’t take more than a few months. We’re thinking about having the ceremony in summer. Obviously everything's still flexible, though, and we'll need second opinions for lots of it, so - what do you think, Jane?”

“Cat would make a cute flower girl,” Jane said thoughtfully. Working on her own wedding had been partly enjoyable and mostly nightmarish, but she had to admit she loved the idea of helping with Anne’s. “I know Mary would like that. Will she be old enough, do you think?”

“Might work,” Anne agreed. “And if not, there’s plenty of Howard cousins we can co-opt.”

“Should fill out the bridesmaid roster, at least,” Jane said with a laugh. She could just imagine the chaos that would come of a room full of giddy teenage Howards in colorful chiffon.

Clearly, Anne must’ve had the same thought: she got a faraway look in her eye, then winced. “Yeah, we’ll have to put a limit on bridesmaids. Of course, Henry might want his nieces involved, or at least his daughter . . . well, we’ll figure it out.” 

George leaned back and regarded the two of them affectionately. “Let it be hereby known that plans for the wedding of the century began in this very room.”

Anne and Jane rolled their eyes in unison. George laughed, dodging Anne’s attempt to kick him. “So, what was his proposal like? I believe you said something before about it being film-worthy and then shamefully neglected to provide us with details.”

Elaborate proposals ranked almost as highly as elaborate weddings on Jane’s list of Things She Wanted To Hear A Lot About. She made a mental note to thank George later for remembering.

Anne smiled, leaning in conspiratorially. “Well . . .”

**Author's Note:**

> Anne and George's opinion of their extended family is roughly equivalent to Mark Watney's opinion of the NASA botanists.


End file.
